Riding the wind of rebirth

Because things are relatively better on the mainland, but Hong Kong Island is a mixed bag, and old lines could be monitored and eavesdropped on at any time.

While it's not a major issue, it's still not perfect. Now, however, as long as Zhongxing-1 can start working normally, the communication link of the settlement system can be completed through Zhongxing-1. Even if other satellites cannot work normally, this one satellite alone is sufficient to handle the communication work of the settlement system.

"ChinaSat 2 has been connected." At this moment, the second red light in the Asia-Pacific region on the screen turned green, and Mai Xiaomiao spoke up at the opportune moment.

Applause erupted again in the lobby beneath the glass curtain wall, this time accompanied by cheers.

"The solar panels of Zhongxing-1 have deployed normally, the power supply system for the solar panels has started working, the power management system has started working, and the launch mission of Zhongxing-1 has been completed."

"Huh? Didn't the second one succeed?" Liang Hong asked in surprise, "Why is what Xiao Miao said different from what the command center said?"

“You’re all right.” Zhou Zhi stared at the changes in the graphics on the laptop and said, “The satellite has its own power source. The communication we established earlier used its own power source, but that’s only temporary. In the end, it will still need to rely on its own solar panels to provide power.”

"Communication between Earth and space relies on microwaves, which is a very mature technology, so it can be established in advance. The solar panels need time to open, and the power management system also needs time to switch power supply, so it was a little late. Now that Zhongxing-1 has switched to solar panel power, it can be said to have truly started normal operation, and the launch was truly a success."

"Then why not just open the windsurfing system first, and then test the communication function once there's a sufficient power supply?"

"Because the communication function is always on," He Shiqing said. "The status and parameter tracking of each satellite need to be sent to the command center; orbit insertion, attitude adjustment and control, as well as actions such as solar panel deployment, all need to be tracked and adjusted in a timely manner so that timely intervention can be carried out. All of these require signal back and forth interaction, which is a form of communication."

“That makes sense.” Yan Xiao understood now.

Mai Xiaomiao switched the image on the computer screen to a visual world map showing the Asian region. A circle appeared on the map, covering most of China and stretching from Heilongjiang to the South China Sea.

"This is the coverage area of ​​Satellite One, right?" Liang Hong asked, looking at the map.

"Yes, this is the basic satellite area covered by Satellite 1. In this area, ground stations of the antenna ground network can exchange data with Satellite 1, and can also connect to the 'star path' through Satellite 1 to exchange data with other adjacent centers and their corresponding geostationary orbit satellites."

Just as we were getting to this point, another circle appeared, clearly indicating that Zhongxing-2 had been successfully connected.

The coverage now extends beyond China to include Russia, Japan, and South Korea. A barely perceptible sly smile appeared on Li Laosan's face: "The Tokyo trading market has been covered."

"A rabbit doesn't eat the grass near its burrow." Zhou Zhi had to warn Li Laosan: "Take it easy."

After thinking for a moment, he added, "Eat slowly."

"Don't worry, don't worry." Li Laosan smiled kindly. "Of course, we can't let the grass next door know."

Zhou Zhi couldn't help but sigh: "Actually, at this point, even if they knew, they couldn't control it anymore, right?" "What are you guys talking about?" Yan Xiao was completely confused.

“Oh, seeing the map makes Third Brother think of the economic situation again.” Zhou Zhi laughed: “As you all know, Third Brother is a big financier.”

At this moment, announcements, applause, and cheers came from the hall again, and at the same time, the third circle on Mai Xiaomiao's monitor lit up.

"Yeah!" Zhou Zhi finally let out his pent-up emotions and high-fived Li Laosan, who was equally excited: "We did it! We did it!"

After saying that, they took turns high-fiving and hugging each other to celebrate.

"Wait a minute..." Yan Xiao readily complied, giving high-fives, hugs, and shouts without missing a beat. But after finishing, he remembered another problem and pointed to the Gaoxing-1 satellite on Mai Xiaomiao's computer, which was marked as being in its local synchronous orbit but hadn't been lit yet: "Isn't there one missing here? Why are we celebrating ahead of time?"

Mai Xiaomiao explained with a smile, "Boy and Third Brother are both pragmatists. Gaoxing-1 is used to contact the other Gaoxing satellites. As I just mentioned, at this stage, Gaoxing cannot function normally and can only be used for diversion and experimentation. Now, we can use three medium-sized satellites to cover the Asia-Pacific region, which has already met the application requirements of this launch mission. Gaoxing-1 will have to wait until the next wave of launch missions is completed before it can join Gaoxing-2 and its dedicated Americas constellation to establish a star engine network covering half of the Earth."

"From a technical point of view, the first phase of the launch mission can only be considered 100% successful after the Gaoxing-1 satellite is fully deployed." Li Laosan smiled broadly. "But from an operational point of view, the first phase of the launch mission can be considered complete now."

"Even if there are any minor flaws, we still have a window of opportunity," Zhou Zhi said with a broad smile. "It's from now until the second launch, during which we can make adjustments without affecting the first phase of operations."

"There are so many twists and turns in this!" Yang Honghui felt his head was spinning after listening all night. "But congratulations in advance, the launch went very smoothly."

"Yes, now it's just one last push." ​​Zhou Zhi and Li Laosan were clearly relaxed, and this attitude infected the others, making the atmosphere in the observation hall more relaxed.

"Why don't we all go back to the guesthouse to rest first?" Mai Xiaomiao suggested, "Especially Sister Xueshan and Xiaoshunzi. It will take another three hours for the geostationary satellite to reach its orbit, and we might have to wait until four in the morning."

The final decision was that Feng Xueshan, Yang, and Xiao Shunzi would go back first, while the remaining boys were unwilling to go back. Mai Xiaomiao had a job, and Liang Hong and He Shiqing were happy to stay with their boyfriends, so everyone simply decided to stay in the observation hall.

The launch operation has been progressing steadily and in an orderly manner. The command center sends out various instructions and data from telemetry and monitoring stations at regular intervals, including the operational status, attitude status, power status, and laser channel calibration status of the three satellites. It is actually a very heavy and complex task.

The control of high-altitude satellites is even more complex, involving five orbital jumps. Each time the satellite rotates in an elliptical orbit around the Earth, it uses the explosive power of its ion thrusters to gain greater acceleration and actively transfer it to a higher orbit upon returning to perigee.

After several jumps, the satellite finally moved from a low Earth orbit of 2,000 kilometers to a geostationary transfer orbit of more than 30,000 kilometers at a speed of more than 10,000 kilometers per hour.

However, this is not the end, because the migration orbit is a path design to facilitate the arrival of the satellite. After completing this step, the satellite must be converted from an elliptical flight orbit to a prototype geostationary orbit.

This ensures that Gaoxing-1, in its geosynchronous orbit, remains essentially stationary in space, perpendicular to the Earth's surface, with both orbiting the Earth at identical angular velocities. Furthermore, it allows Gaoxing-1 to cover one-third of the Earth's surface. (End of Chapter)